UK Carp & Coarse Fishing

I’m hoping to get out every Monday during the winter for a day trip on some sort of water – lakes, rivers, etc. We shall see where this winter takes me and if I can move away from the carp along the way!

This Monday, I headed off to the School Lake and was a bit shocked as there were 4 cars in the car park. They were all covered in dew and no doubt they were night anglers, all bivvied up and sure enough, I was right. It’s just one of those things you get occasionally and I very nearly headed over to the Priory Lake but knowing there is road work near there and it’s not the best area to get to.

I was here and needed to make the best of it. I got the barrow out of the car and set off up the side of the lake the others were pitched upon. This was so I could work out where they were casting to and then what are my options for the far bank. This turned out to be the shallower end, I’ve not done too well there or the island end. I hope to move by lunchtime.

The island end it was. This year, I’d paid the extra for the third rod from the 1st of November. It was time to spread them out a bit, but more importantly not interfere with the others. Put simply, it’s for that other spot in a swim that you fancy and most importantly a roving rod

I set up two rods off the island, one high up on the shelf as the sun was doing its best and the other at the bottom. The left-hand rod was flicked up the margins to a spot I had previously fished in the past. All rods were baited with small wafters and only a little handful of bait was put out. I was really hoping that by 11 am the night anglers would be starting to pack up and I could move along that bank for a few hours.

With no signs of carp and only a single rod knock to the island rods, I moved the other one over to the far margins and stuck a couple of boilies around the spot.

I’m hoping that something will be moving around by those reeds and along that far bank. Over the next few hours, my hopes for the lads packing up isn’t looking good and I need to work on this swim more.

With it coming up to packing away time and the rods on the floor, it’s I’m definitely heading for a blank.

Until next time

Richard

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I just about remember my dad giving me some rods, reels and tackle when I was about 7 or 8 years old. At the time they had a boat on the Norfolk Broads. I also remember my Auntie Jenny helping me out with a huge tangle, but we still netted this enormous bream, which I’m sure probably was less than a pounds but it was a monster to me. Never the less, the seed was sown. The next recollection I have, is when I used to cycle to my local river on my bike and fish for anything that came along Perch, Pike, Dace, Roach and Bream. In those days, I was happy anything of any size. Another pivotal moment was a day’s fishing on Lldidrode Wells Park lake after bream, these huge fish kept rolling and crashing about. Yep, you guessed it, they where carp. I managed to hook one and I tried so hard to get it on my small panned net, but it was way too big. I even tried to guide it into my keep net, not a chance and the line finally gave in and I lost it. This encounter, really sparked my fascination with carp, but unfortunately at the time, I just didn’t have the tackle or the knowledge and it would have to wait.

I then started working and was able to travel further afield. I started fishing lakes, discovered night fishing and the magic of June 16th – the start of the fishing season.

Over the next 3 years, with the help of my wages and a friendly carp angler call Ian, I started to venture into carp fishing in about 1983. I managed a few smaller fish and then an 18lber, which a carp angler with all the kit, helped me net and weight it. This was a great help. I never realized that this poor guy had probably been bivvyed up all weekend, some young lad comes along and landed one a few swims away. An 18lber back in 1982 was an absolutely monster.

That is how it all started for the carp, on a lake called Barham Pits in Suffolk. I then moved to Weybread pits with a group of fellow carp anglers in 1984 and that’s when it really became the obsession that it’s still is today, over 40 years later, from those humble beginnings on the Broads and Rivers. I’ve lost count of where and how many lakes I’ve fished. The ones that stick on my mind are Walthamstow, Kingsmead, Sinah Warren, Nutsey, Petersfield Heath, Vinitrose, Ivy, Runcton, Rockford and today with my current syndicate.

I’ve fished a lot of club waters around Hampshire area and these days I’m happy to sit in pleasant surroundings enjoying nature and the wildlife life over the hustle and bustle of busier waters. I’m older and wiser, and enjoy my fishing much more these days. It got all to crazy 15 year’s back and I very nearly gave up, but instead have spent 7 year’s fishing on the Hampshire Avon after Chub, Barbel and Pike and not having to put up with the total lack of empathy and respect for fellow anglers.

I probably only came across 10 other anglers in the 7 years I fished that syndicate. If it wasn’t for a chance meeting with an old friend in a tackle shop, I wouldn’t be on my syndicate that I’ve been on for seven years and will be forever hopefully, unless I managed to find something else that’s very similar in all aspects. I really enjoy fishing for the unknown these days, it’s certainly harder and is less spectacular than your average fishing. However, this is where I’m more comfortable, away from the hustle and bustle, constant comings and goings of busy lakes isn’t for me anymore. I’m happy catching any size carp and remembering the joy of fishing. It’s less of an obsession with the biggest carp only syndrome, no disrespect to those anglers, but my time is done there – for the time being, as you never know what’s around the corner. I suppose I’m targeting the unknown monster is actually very similar, but without the pressure. Which is why I like to stay away from X amount of people hunting the same fish and constantly obsessed with it. I’m sure most people on my syndicate are all after that unknown monster, but no one ever mentions it. We all hope one day it will come our way, but we are not bothered if it doesn’t, we just go fishing and any carp is a capture and 1 on the bank.

I can see myself fishing until I physically can’t get down the lake by myself and then hopefully I will get dropped off as I did when it all started – still after the carp and other species.

That’s my story

Richard

After fishing some 35 winters, I have come to the conclusion (or realisation), that you are really only fishing 30 nights max over this period.  This is based on two nights a week.  In general (unless you are really unlucky), a good percentage of this nights will be not that extreme.  And with modern-day carp fishing equipment, it can be very pleasant if you get your mindset right.  You are still fishing the same amount of time as before, its just dark (obviously) and that’s the hard part.  Setting up and packing up in the dark, you just need a routine, a very good knowledge of the swims and the lake.  This comes with time.  As carp on most waters, like feeding at night, you should stand more chance of a take.  Admittedly it can be cold but with these mild winter’s, but you also have the prospects of catching carp at their biggest weights.

With modern bivvys, sleeping bags, bivvy lights and armed with a mobile phone or tablet, you can sit in the bivvy watching plenty of stuff when you want to hibernate!  Some anglers find the thought of watch tv a big no-no.  If I had not been doing this, I would have been asleep most of the night (which I did do when the children were younger) and not heard a thing, I would have moved my baits onto topping fish.  I tend to use headphones with only one ear peace in, as it helps to listen out for the carp topping.  With the long moon lit nights, this can be in fact the best period of the year to understand where the carp are.  Even a walk around the lake at night with your ears wide open will give you more knowledge than you can dream of.

Hope this helps

Richard

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The Airfield Lake is closed until next March, so it’s time for getting sorted for some winter fishing. After a great deal of thought and consideration. I’ve decided I’m going to drop my ticket on the syndicate I joined this year, I really prefer out-of-the-way waters and unknown possibilities. This, which is what I grew up fishing on, and just love the wild water, like the Airfield Lake, which I would fish all year long if it was possible.

So I’m back on Meadow Lake and there’s going to be plenty of these over the next few months, as I’m unable to get down before dark, due to family stuff.

I wasn’t sure how busy it was going to be as there had been a cold snap and the first frost or 3 of the year. I’d been checking my readings on the Fish Deeper Page on the computer and formalizing myself with the features all over again. You only really remember the main ones and I was interested in the others, I had a feeling that it was going to be busy this winter.

I was a little bit lucky this week and managed to arrive at just gone 4 pm, in time to look about and find not an angler on the lake. As I didn’t have a clue where the carp were and didn’t spot any signs, I headed for a swim which gives a fantastic view of the top end of the lake. I can also walk around a bush and watch the other end of the lake, I can listen out for the carp crashing in the winter bay. If I’m lucky, I can do this in the middle of the night, which is the most common time for the carp to show, it’s easily done without going far away from my swim.

I flicked the marker rod out in the direction I was hoping to find a clear area. I’d been told the weed had grown well this year, this is a really good sign that the water is in pristine condition, I found some straight away. My second cast was put out a bit further and I found some lovely smooth silt, so I flicked my rod out there with the old baits and rigs on, to check for any signs of silkweed – there was none. As the light was fading, it was time to clip everything up and get a small amount of bait out there. I also had no idea of how it was fishing, it’s generally hard going in October and November and only picks up really in mid-January, but you never know.

My bait choice went from one end of the scale to another – a single 10mm Dumbell to a 20mm Wafter, Both in Classic Corn, over a bed of 12mm Boilies, maize, pellets, and about 10 spombs over each rod, we will see where we go from there. 

With a single bleep around 8 pm, I was feeling pretty positive about the possibility of a take before midnight. Alas, that didn’t happen. The skies cleared, the temperature dropped and the early morning mist arrived. I may well have to wait until mid-morning or a bit later for my first bite, but this trip is more about gathering information to go into the winter months.

A glint of the sun is somewhere out there.

The day passed by with no action or any signs of carp. I made the decision to leave the rods as they are for another 24 hours and hope something comes my way before home time tomorrow. Tonight is going to be warm and the wind is switching around to the South West. Unfortunately, the pressure will be 1030 by the time I pack up tomorrow morning, not looking great, but we can only hope and put faith in what we know.

I was up about 4 30 listening out and watching the water for carpy signs. I was also wondering if leaving my baits out had been such a good idea. After hearing a few carp crashing in that direction around midnight, I was sure one of my rods would have rattled off at some point overnight.

I dropped off to sleep with the door open and woke up to my friendly robin hopping about inside looking for a bit of warmth and no doubt food.

With only a couple of hours left, it doesn’t look great, but we live in hope and are full of confidence until the rods are reeled in.

Until next time.

Richard

For many years I’ve been trying to fish with less kit, this has been a hard task at times especially when the car can be parked so close by. This makes it quite easier to do a couple of trips to and from the swim. Also, being lucky enough to fish secure locations helps a great deal. When I was younger, the barrow was sky high with kit and I would sling a rucksack on your back, but with age, this is becoming harder. I fished a stretch of the Hampshire Avon about 10 year’s back where you could fish night’s, use three rods and stay for a few days. I now can’t imagine how on earth I carried all that kit in one go. There was no going back to the car and getting the rest of the stuff after walking over a mile. You couldn’t just leave your stuff there as the cows would have probably trashed it and there was no where to stash it safely, because it was so open.

My gear was trimmed down, but I could carry so much more, there was no opportunity to barrow it, so I just hauled it all in one go. But then I moved on to the lakes again after the carp and the ability to park close by. The tackle levels grew again, which was fine for a few years until I needed to start doing two trips backwards and forwards to the car. Again, it was ok at the time, except when it was raining. A couple of the swims on the lake, you could load the car directly from the bivvy, which is great, but also encourages you to take yet more kit and moving swims soon became a thing of the past. In conjunction with age (no doubt), the thought process that the carp aren’t far away and with the knowledge that moving swim doesn’t always pay off – unless they are really going for it (that’s for another article).

A few year’s ago, I started to limited the size of the bag (carryall) I took and simplify what I took to only what could fit in the bag. This sort of worked for a time, but extra kit would creep back and an extra bag would end up on the barrow at some point. Then another cut back would be needed. One issue that needs to be taken into account; the older I get, the more comfortable I like to be. Gone are the day’s of fishing under a brolly all year around. I finally realised that being comfortable made me a better angler, simply because if I’m tired or cold I just don’t fish as well as I would do if I’m warm and well rested.

Comfort is a real must these days for me. I like to use a bivvy with an overwrap that extends the size of the bivvy enough to sit on a day chair and where possible I use a small two man bivvy in the winter. This makes fishing in these months a lot more productive, as I’m enjoying my time and not stuck under a brolly freezing cold – probably an age thing again!

This year with joining a new syndicate I had to really focused my mind on reducing my tackle down a lot more than I had done in the past year’s. I needed the opportunity to be able to move swim and do only one trip to and from the car.

This lead me to many months of trying to get the right balance between what I used and what was there for that ‘just in case’ moment. For instance, how many spombs do you need? For me, it can be all sizes, as I like to be prepared and there’s always that unfortunate chance you may lose one. I know is rare and you can leave any spares in a bag in the car tucked away out of sight. My spare kit bag on the car was born. I know I can’t get too carried away and end up with a larger carry all full of kit.

I started to break down how much of every bit of tackle that I take and I use regular. I then reduced the volume of each item, e.g. how much end tackle do you need? Leads are another thing I take to much of and spares can easily be in my car bag.

My tackle box was broken down into three separate boxes (bags), which for me makes it easier to use on the bank. I really only need the baiting up bag out, this makes packing up and moving swims a lot faster.

This just contains the essential items that I need to bait up and keeps things simple.

This bag contains the remaining essential items, plus my head touch and a battery pack changer and cables .

I deliberately reduced the quantity really low and had a lot stored in the car for a few weeks. I filtered out a lot more and surprisingly never needed anything, so, reduced down the bag in the car to a small one. I rarely need and could leave at home (and probably will do at some point). I don’t carry a rig board anymore, as I haven’t used one for years. I like to make a fresh rig when needed and I sharpen my hooks each time I bait up. I found that my rig board just got in the way and were always filled up with the wrong sort of rig that I needed at the time.

Hook baits were another thing I carry to many of and just don’t use them. Why would you, when you know that you have upmost confidence in what you are catching on? It would be different if you were on a new water or day ticket water.

I now only carry what I’m using and a couple of pots in the car just in case. Which, I’ve yet to get out. This all really goes to show, we carry way to much kit.

There is no way around the big items, such as bedchair, bivvy, sleeping bag, metal ware, rods and landing nets, which I carry two of due to fish care and that’s another blog all together. You can fit the the odd bit of tackle in bags and beds.

I like to use a fold away chair on my bedchair as my back can’t take sitting on the bed all day without it, this easily fits in the bedchair.

My cooking kit is kept in a Ridgemonkey bucket including all the food I’m going to eat.

If it doesn’t fit in then I don’t take it. I keep extra food (if needed) in the car. I’ve found a very good food company that make self life nice meals that can be stored with out the need freezing them, this simplifies things a lot. I like my noodles a lot, at one time I was into cooking some amazing meals on the bank, but these day’s I just can’t be bothered for a few night’s fishing. If I’m going for longer (as I do a couple of times each year), I have no other option than to bring a cool box, I’ve even started to drink black coffee to save on the weight of the milk, bit extreme but it all adds up.

Bait wise I only bring down to the swim what I’m going to use and if necessary I can go back to the car or pop by when its time to head to the toilet.

I have a barrow with a small bag, if there was the option for more panniers, I would simply overload it. It’s like a shed – the bigger the shed the more stuff you put in it, but if you had a smaller shed it would still be full up, but a lot less junk would be stored there.

Looking from the outside, it still looks like I carry way too much kit and I’m always looking at ways to reduce the amount of stuff I need. I’ve found that I don’t need the bag in the car after all, as I’ve never been to get anything from it. Which certainly goes to show that we all bring to much to the lake.

I hope this was helpful to your fishing.

Until next time

Richard